Tips for Selecting a Screening Partner

Let’s talk money. It costs $4,129 on average to hire someone, but did you know it costs an average of six to nine months of an employee’s salary to replace them? Yep. The truth hurts. Let’s put that into perspective. For an employee that makes $60,000 per year, recruiting and training costs $30,000 - $45,000 on average! Wowza. That’s a lot of money on the line to make a poor hiring decision. Authenticating an applicant’s information and experience brings tremendous value to the overall quality of hire, making background screening a critical component of a winning talent acquisition strategy. So, with findings from the 2021 Talent Acquisition Technology Buyer’s Guide, we’re here to answer your burning questions on selecting the right background screening partner — not just another provider. 

1. Evaluate screening partners, not providers

The key to screening is to find a partner — not just another provider. You want a background screening provider that will partner with you on satisfying and exceeding your hiring needs. A partner keeps you in mind throughout onboarding, adopting, and implementing. Not to mention, they are available to effectively answer inquiries at any stage of the process. The right partner won’t put you through long-drawn-out change management. 

Investing in talent acquisition technology has many benefits, but it’s important to remember that everything comes with a price — especially when selecting a partner. Conducting a cost-benefit analysis reveals that some investments are better than others. That’s why it’s essential to weigh the pros and cons when evaluating your screening partner. 

Madeline Laurano, author of the 2021 TA Tech Buyer’s Guide, recommends asking these key questions when evaluating and selecting a background screening partner:

• Do they have built-in compliance: EEOC, FCRA, Ban The Box, etc., via online consents and dispute processes?
• Do they streamline processes and workflows, improving time-to-fill?
• How do they integrate with existing ATS and HRIS?
• Do they belong to associations such as NAPBS, National Consumer Reporting Association (NCRA), etc.?
• Do they have the capability to initiate the background check by texting the candidate?

Conducting a cost-benefit analysis and asking the right questions is just the start to selecting a background screening partner. 

2. Know Your Screening Needs

For most companies, background screening is non-negotiable and has become ingrained in the recruitment process. With the upward trend in HR technology adoption, 80% of organizations now use a background screening provider to satisfy their needs, and 76% of HR and TA leaders are confident they have senior support in their background screening solutions — and for good reason! These companies are three times more likely to track the quality of hire. 

However, according to this year’s TA Tech Buyer’s Guide, hiring organizations cite background screening as a top replacement need. Forty percent of companies are increasing their headcount this year and one in three do not have the correct data to make decisions, emphasizing the importance of knowing your screening needs before choosing a screening partner.

Assess your screening needs by determining:

• The success of your current provider in offering accurate and compliant results
• The type of screens you need (based on job requirements, industry, etc.)
• The number of screens you do in a year
• The company’s rescreening policy, if any
• The support needed from additional resources (IT, leadership, etc.)
• The infrastructure of your current HR tech stack

3. Choose a Partner to Improve the Candidate Experience

The background screening process significantly impacts the candidate experience. Most background checks are run when a hiring decision is being made, making it critical to have accurate and on-time data. No one wants to keep a quality candidate waiting.

That’s why it’s important to choose a screening partner that offers solutions and features to improve your candidates’ experience, such as texting.

According to the 2021 TA Tech Buyer’s Guide, a digitized background screening experience results in:

1. Reduced costs of a bad hire
2. Improved candidate experience and engagement
3. Improved accuracy of hire
4. Improved quality of hires
5. Improved retention of quality employees

Considering your needs and the candidate experience will bring you closer to selecting the right background screening partner for your organization! 

4. Consider integration capabilities

Employers state that the biggest challenge associated with background screening technology is integrating solutions into their current hiring processes and systems.

Companies adopt technology to support the challenges they face but forget to consider how they will work with the existing technology infrastructure, resulting in an unmanageable and disparate TA tech stack. In fact, 31% of companies said integration is a top pain point with their HR tech stack. 

These challenges result from (1) the complexity of TA tech and (2) the number of solutions in place. On average, companies are using ten or more TA solutions! That’s a lot to manage, especially considering that only 3% of companies leverage all of their ATS functionality.

Finding a background screening partner with integration capabilities that match your existing technology infrastructure enables a better experience, eliminates manual processes and improves data quality and consistency. 

When evaluating partners, ask questions specific to their integration capabilities, such as:

• What other talent acquisition providers do they currently integrate with, and can they provide examples and documentation?
• What are their standard integrations with third-party providers?
• Do they offer support for web service API integrations that meet standard web logic?
• Do they provide integration toolkits for administrators?
• What type of support do they offer before, during, and after the integration process?
• Does the HRIS vendor certify these integrations?
• Can their data integrate within my existing systems?

Luckily, Verified First offers a one-click integration, enabling you to integrate our screening solutions to your hiring platforms in seconds. Learn more here.

5. Calculate ROI

The benefits of investing in HR technology are endless. However, when you only focus on the benefits, you risk blinding yourself to other important elements. Excited and pressured to adopt the latest and greatest technology, companies, unfortunately, forget to consider the bottom line.

Shockingly, only one out of two companies measure the ROI of their investment. This results in companies investing in technology without strategically measuring its impact and value to the company as a whole.

Calculating ROI should always be considered before making an investment and choosing a screening partner.

When calculating ROI, consider:

• Solution provider costs (products, licensing, services)
• Internal costs (implementation labor, management, support, training, facilities, etc.)
• Increased recruiter productivity
• Reduced costs of a bad hire

For a template on calculating the ROI of your tech stack, including your background screening partner, download the 2021 Talent Acquisition Technology Buyer’s Guide here.

Taking the (calculated) leap

Investing in technology is a big deal and is not something that should be considered lightly. To help guide your decision, check out the 2021 Talent Acquisition Technology Buyer’s Guide.

If you’re looking to invest in a background screening partner, remember: 

1. Evaluate screening partners, not providers.
2. Know your screening needs.
3. Choose a partner to improve the candidate experience.
4. Consider integration capabilities.
5. Calculate ROI.

Interested in screening with Verified First? Let’s chat!